Broadcast receiving apparatus and received program selection method

Abstract

Past program-selection history is stored as databases in a storage unit. When selecting a new program, a program that will be requested most at this moment by the user is predicted based on the databases stored in the storage unit, program information acquired by a program information acquisition unit, and current time information and current location information acquired by a time/location information acquisition unit, and the prediction result is used as a program selection index.

What is claimed is:  
     
         1 . A broadcast receiving apparatus that receives a plurality of programs broadcast by broadcasting stations and selects any one of the plurality of programs for presentation to a user, said broadcast receiving apparatus comprising: 
 a program information acquisition unit configured to acquire program information on programs broadcast by the broadcasting stations;    a time/location information acquisition unit configured to acquire at least one of current time information and current location information;    a storage unit configured to store information; and    a controller configured to control an operation of said broadcast receiving apparatus,    wherein said controller stores, into said storage unit as a database, contents of a program selected in the past and satisfying predetermined conditions and at least one of program selection time information and location information and, at the same time, predicts one of said plurality of received programs that will be requested by the user at this moment, based on the database stored in said storage unit, the program information acquired by said program information acquisition unit, and at least one of the current time information and the current location information acquired by said time/location information acquisition unit, for use as a program selection index.    
     
     
         2 . The broadcast receiving apparatus according to  claim 1 , further comprising a program switching unit configured to switch a program to be presented to the user in response to a program selection by said controller.  
     
     
         3 . The broadcast receiving apparatus according to  claim 2 , wherein said program switching unit switches the program to be presented to the user immediately after said broadcast receiving apparatus is started or when the program is ended.  
     
     
         4 . The broadcast receiving apparatus according to  claim 2 , further comprising a program recording unit configured to record a program selected by said controller onto a recording medium.  
     
     
         5 . The broadcast receiving apparatus according to  claim 4 , wherein said program switching unit switches the program to be presented to the user to the program recorded on the recording medium by said program recording unit immediately after said broadcast receiving apparatus is started or when the program is ended.  
     
     
         6 . The broadcast receiving apparatus according to  claim 1 , wherein said controller stores information on a program and circumstances when the program was selected into said storage unit as a database, said program being selected in the past, said program being a program that was not switched within a predetermined time, a program that was not switched until an end of one unit was reached, or a program that was not switched until radio reception sensitivity declined.  
     
     
         7 . The broadcast receiving apparatus according to  claim 1 , wherein said controller stores into said storage unit a total number of selection times of the program satisfying the predetermined conditions and, at the same time, judges a user's taste based on the total number of selection times stored in said storage unit, and predicts one of the plurality of received programs that will be requested by the user at this moment while taking the user's taste into consideration, for use as a program selection index.  
     
     
         8 . The broadcast receiving apparatus according to  claim 1 , wherein said controller stores into said storage unit a total number of selection times of a category of the program satisfying the predetermined conditions and, at the same time, judges a user's taste according to the category based on the total number of selection times of the category stored in said storage unit, and predicts one of the plurality of received programs that will be requested by the user at this moment while taking the user's taste according to the category into consideration, for use as a program selection index.  
     
     
         9 . The broadcast receiving apparatus according to  claim 1 , wherein said controller stores attribute information of the user into said storage unit when the program satisfying the predetermined conditions is selected and, at the same time, and predicts one of the plurality of received programs that will be requested by the user at this moment while taking the attribute information of the user into consideration for use as a program selection index.  
     
     
         10 . The broadcast receiving apparatus according to  claim 1 , wherein said controller stores, into said storage unit as circumstances when the program satisfying the predetermined conditions was selected, an elapsed time from a moment said broadcast receiving apparatus was started to a moment said program was selected and an order in which said program was selected when the program satisfying the predetermined conditions was selected and, at the same time, and predicts one of the plurality of received programs that will be requested by the user at this moment while taking the elapsed time and the order into consideration, for use as a program selection index.  
     
     
         11 . A broadcast receiving apparatus that receives a plurality of programs broadcast by broadcasting stations and selects any one of the plurality of programs for presentation to a user, said broadcast receiving apparatus comprising: 
 program information acquisition means for acquiring program information on programs broadcast by the broadcasting stations;    time/location information acquisition means for acquiring at least one of current time information and current location information;    storage means for storing information; and    control means for controlling an operation of said broadcast receiving apparatus,    wherein said control means stores, into said storage means as a database, contents of a program selected in the past and satisfying predetermined conditions and at least one of program selection time information and location information and, at the same time, predicts one of said plurality of received programs that will be requested by the user at this moment, based on the database stored in said storage means, the program information acquired by said program information acquisition means, and at least one of the current time information and the current location information acquired by said time/location information acquisition means, for use as a program selection index.    
     
     
         12 . A received program selection method, comprising: 
 acquiring program information on programs broadcast by broadcasting stations;    acquiring at least one of current time information and current location information;    storing, into a storage unit as a database, contents of a program selected in the past and satisfying predetermined conditions and at least one of program selection time information and location information; and    predicting one of a plurality of programs, received from broadcasting stations, that will be requested by the user at this moment, based on the database stored in said storage unit, the acquired program information, and at least one of the acquired current time information and the current location information, for use as a program selection index.